I throw my bag over my shoulder as I walk into the chalky paradise of GymStars Elite Gymnastics. I push open the metal door and walk inside, waving to the receptionist, Kelly, as I pass. I step into the gym and take a deep breath of the smell of chalk, determination, and passion that I’ve grown to love. I place my bag on the table reserved for elite gymnasts. I pull my red hair into a ponytail as I walk over the spring floor. I choose to start with some warm-up tumbling, like back handsprings and back tucks. Then, as I’m starting with my harder passes, I see one of my old level 9 teammates, Bella. Bella could be an amazing gymnast, but the coaches won’t move her up because of her terrible attitude. She starts walking over to me.

“Hey, Ivy,” she says with a smirk. I decide to be nice.

“Hi, Bella,” I reply. “I saw you working that new beam dismount earlier. It’s really coming along!” I say with a smile.

“Like you’d know what good gymnastics looks like,” she scoffs. “You’ve been working on your double twisting double back for months!” I shrug.

“It’s taken me a little bit longer, but once I get it I’ll have it for good,” I say modestly. Bella starts to get angry.

“If it weren’t for you I’d have that spot on the elite team! Now I’m stuck on level 9 forever!” Her face suddenly clears.

“What event are you on next? You could give me some tips,” she asks innocently. I look at her confused. Wasn’t she just being mean to me?

“I was planning on going to bars, but if you’d rather go somewhere else-” I start carefully.

“Bars is perfect! I’ll get my grips while you finish on the floor!” Bella says quickly. I nod and walk back over to the floor to finish my warm up. I notice Bella setting the bars, which means loosening the cables so you can raise or lower them. It’s how we always start bars because the little girls before us are so much shorter. I finish my warm up with a few double back tucks and then head over to the bars.

“Great, so what do you want to show me first?” she asks quickly.

“Kip cast-handstands?” I ask expectantly. Bella nods. I kip on the bar and cast into a handstand. I toe shoot up to the high bar and kip into another handstand. As I’m doing a giant I notice the bar has come loose. I feel the bars start to collapse around me and the last thing I feel is the bar crushing my leg before I black out.

I wake up surrounded by white. White room, white lab coats, white sheets. I gather that I’m in the hospital, and when my mom sees that I’m awake she runs over to my bed from her chair.

“Oh honey, I’m so glad you’re okay!” she cries. “You had us all scared there for a minute,”

“What happened?” I ask wearily.

“The bars weren’t tightened all the way. They collapsed around you and broke your leg,’ Mom says tearfully. That’s when I feel the waves of pain coming from my leg. I look down and see that it’s in a white cast. I gasp.

“Do they know how long I’ll be out of the gym?” I shriek. “Nationals is only a month away!” I cry. My mom’s eyes fill with tears.

“They say at least a few months. You’ll definitely miss Nationals, but there’s always next year!” she says, trying to convince herself. I’m thinking about everything that I’ve lost when my best friend in the whole world walks in, Tucker. His eyes light up when he sees me and I can’t help but smile. He walks over, hugs me and I instantly feel better.

“What’d you do to yourself this time, Ives?” he asks, his voice playful. I tearfully laugh. He sits in the chair next to my bed and smiles at me. We spend a little time talking about normal topics, trying to avoid the obvious despair when we hear a knock at my door. I’m assuming it’s a nurse or doctor with more medicine but in walks the last person I’d ever expect. Bella walks in carrying a big bouquet of pink and purple flowers. Tucker wraps his arm around me protectively. Bella looks uncomfortable with tears in her eyes as she stands in the doorway. Tucker looks at me questioningly, and I nod, signaling it’s okay. He gets up to leave, shaking his head angrily as he walks out of the pristine room. Bella steps in and looks around.

“Nice room,” she says awkwardly. I decide to cut to the chase.

“Why are you here, Bella?” I ask wearily. “I’m tired and I know you aren’t here for moral support. So why are you actually here?” she sighs.

“I needed to get something off my chest,” she says, about to cry. “And I want you to know that I regret with all my heart,” Her green eyes glint with tears.

“Just spit it out, Bella!” I say. I think I already know what she’s going to say, but I need to hear her say it.

“It was me! I loosened the bars so you would fall. I wanted you to get injured so I could have your spot on the elite team.” she says all in one breath. I feel all the air leave my chest. Bella did this to me. She’s the reason I won’t compete at nationals this year and also the reason I’ll be out of the gym for months. I’m about to respond when we hear someone step into the room. We both turn and see our coach, Leo, standing in the doorway. We can both immediately tell by his expression that he heard everything Bella said. He motions toward her with one finger and she walks slowly out of the room, her head hung. Tucker watches them leave and steps back into the room. He’s also obviously heard everything she said. There’s nothing but anger in his eyes as he looks from my leg to Bella and Leo walking away. He steps over and sits gently on the edge of my bed.

“The doctor told me I could try to walk with crutches. Want to help me?” I offer, trying to ease the tension. Tucker just needs to be able to help. He immediately stands.

“Of course.” He helps me up and passes me the crutches. We start slowly down the hall as we see Leo walking towards us.

“Ivy,” he says, with an air of finality in his voice, “Bella has been kicked off the team. This has been coming for a long time, but this was the last straw,” he says finally. I sigh.

“Thanks. I believe that everyone deserves a second chance, but she’s had a hundred second chances!” Tucker nods in agreement. He knows nearly as much about Bella as I do. I’m relieved, but even as I say those words I feel a twinge of guilt. Bella, like me, has devoted her entire life to gymnastics. She’s given up everything to get where she is now. So for her to have to throw it all away feels... wrong. I can’t let this happen. Coach Leo starts to leave.

“Wait!” I cry. “Can I see her? I need to talk to Bella.” Coach looks confused but nods. Tucker helps me up onto the crutches and I follow Coach Leo out the door. I follow him to the waiting room where Bella sits crying quietly. The guilty feeling in my chest grows. She hears the crutches and looks up, surprised to see us. I sit beside her and look at Coach to signal to leave us alone. We’re quiet for a few seconds, but there’s one thing I need to know.

“Why’d you do it?” I blurt. “Coach was planning on moving you up to elite in April, you knew that. That’s only a month away!” I say incredulously.

“I know!” She sobs. “I couldn’t stand to come into the gym every morning and see someone younger than me be better and higher-leveled. I am so competitive. I couldn’t do it!” She cries.

“You could’ve ended my gymnastics career for good. Those bars are 8 feet up! I could’ve died!”

“I can’t believe I did it,” Bella wails, “I just couldn’t stand it. But now I’m off the team for good, and you won’t have to see me anymore.” I stay silent. “I just want to say I’m so, so, so sorry, Ivy. You deserve better.” She exhales shakily. I stand abruptly.

“There might be something you can do to get back on the team,” I say, an idea coming to my head.

I sit on the balance beam, catching my breath after a workout. Nationals came and went, but the national team coach is confident that I’ll be ready for future competitions. My leg has totally healed and I’m back and better than ever. I’m getting ready to compete at World Championships in the fall, and I can’t wait. I glance over to the bars where Bella dismounts the high bar with a double layout and sticks

it. She looks around and catches my eye, and I smile at her. She smiles gratefully back. Coach Leo let her back on the team after she called all the girls she made quit and apologized. I may have begged a little too, but it was mostly her. She had moved up to the elite team and we’re going to be competing together now. She’s still very competitive, but everyone needs a little friendly competition in their lives, right?